02-313 C.M.R. ch. 15, § IX - PRIVACY AND SECURITY

A. All teledentistry encounters when providing oral health care services must comply with the privacy and security measures of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other applicable law to ensure that all patient communications and records are secure and remain confidential.

(1) Written protocols must be established that address the following:

i. Privacy;

ii. Dental personnel who will process messages;

iii. Hours of operation;

iv. Types of transactions that will be permitted electronically;

v. Required patient information to be included in any communication, including patient name, identification number and type of transaction;

vi. Archiving and retrieval; and

vii. Quality oversight mechanisms.

(2) The written protocols must be evaluated annually for accuracy and be maintained in an accessible and readily available manner for review. The written protocols must include sufficient privacy and security measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of patient-identifiable information, including password protection, encryption or other reliable authentication techniques.

Notes

02-313 C.M.R. ch. 15, § IX